Article August 10, 1907 Issue

Christian Scientists are not satisfied with saying that...

Christian Andersen

Portland Oregonian

Christian Scientists are not satisfied with saying that because our fathers had no exact or demonstrable knowledge of God, therefore we should be satisfied without such knowledge. They claim that through the efforts and sacrifices of one great and good woman, in striving to follow her Master, at least something of exact knowledge of God has been gained. They also claim that this knowledge is demonstrable, and point to the works as the demonstrations. They say that these works, or demonstrations, bear the same relation to what will be possible in the future that an example in simple arithmetic bears to a problem in differential calculus. Now, if these claims of good works were injurious to any one, or altogether false, it might be justifiable to criticise them (that is, if charity, or at least fairness, were observed in such criticism); but the amazing thing is that these claims seem stubbornly true. They may and do seem extravagant to many people, mostly because it seems to be too good to be true that an exact and demonstrable knowledge, however small, can be had of the very secrets of being and life. But after all, is it really a self-evident fact that nothing can ever be known beyond what these learned critics decree are the limits of knowledge?

The Christian Scientists say it is undeniable that there is such a thing as the truth about these matters, and that it seems reasonable that at some time and in some way this truth will become known. They claim that the time for the beginning of this knowledge has come—pointing to the works, they ask, "Why not?" Thousands of men and women, including doctors of divinity and medicine, have approached Christian Science in an attitude of doubt, and found to their amazement that cases of disease of many years' standing and of a nature commonly supposed to be the farthest removed from the class that can be cured by hypnotic suggestion, have suddenly vanished; undesirable traits of character or offensive habits have suddenly appeared so obnoxious that they have been abandoned. When you ask the Christian Scientist how it is done, he says, "It is by the application of a very little exact and demonstrable knowledge of God, and the reason that you do not understand it is that it is so very simple." ...

Christian Scientists declare that God can be understood, and that in order to understand Him you must sometimes deny the evidence of the physical senses. This seems as hard to do as to reconcile the contradictions of the orthodox creeds. However, Christian Science has this advantage—its fruits are good.

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